Secret Identity
by Becca Morgan
Summary: Story set after 'Scorpia'. Alex recovers in hospital and is sent on his next mission with a suprising partner. Alan Blunt's private life revealed!
1. A remarkable recovery

This is my first fic so reviews good or bad, would be appreciated!

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**Chapter 1**

'**A remarkable recovery'**

"_No pain. Just a sense of tiredness and resignation. Alex Rider smiled and closed his eyes." _

"What will we do without him?" Mrs. Jones whispered as she sat and stared blankly through the hospital window. Alan Blunt was next to her, flicking carefully through some files. He was wearing his trademark grey suit, and a red tie. The room was very bland, painted cream with a single window and a door. The light from the window fell in strips across the room. It had only one bed. It's occupant, Alex Rider.

"We know how useful he has been to us Alan; one day he will be a better agent than John." Mrs Jones was clearly becoming agitated, sitting upright in her chair. She rolled the peppermint around her mouth silently. But Alan Blunt was too absorbed in his files to notice. There was a knock on the door. A young doctor dawdled in, carrying a clipboard. He was wearing a white coat and had a hospital ID tag hanging limply round his neck. He was olive skinned, with dark eyes and short dark hair. He smiled briefly.

"Alex is stable. He has a long way to go, but luckily the bullet missed his heart and lungs. Our major concern now is that he wakes up from the anaesthetic. Hopefully he will come round in the next few days." The doctor, Dr. Johnson, swayed on his heels. He looked very uncomfortable in the company of the head of MI6. Of course, he knew nothing of how or why a fourteen year old boy ended up with a bullet in his chest. As far as he was concerned they were his parents. Alan Blunt finally looked up from his files.

"Thank you doctor." uttered Blunt. Dr. Johnson gave a nod of recognition and left the room briskly.

Alex could hear them. He was sure. It had to be Mrs. Jones and Mr. Blunt. And they must be there to drag him away and into their next adventure. No, not this time. He was just about to get up and tell them to leave him alone, when he realised.

He couldn't move. He couldn't speak. He couldn't even feel. It felt like he was in a dream, listening in on the world. Then he heard a knock; and a female voice. It was one he recognised instantly. Suddenly he felt a shooting pain through his chest. It was like being shot all over again, but this time it was very painful. He remembered now; and slowly, he opened his eyes.

Once his eyes had adjusted to the light, he saw her by the door. It was Sabina. She was standing against the wall grinning. Sabina waved and Alex managed to smile back. But the smile soon faded. Mr. Blunt and Mrs. Jones were at the end of his bed. They were sitting on small fold- out chairs. Blunt was clutching some files.

"Alex, your back. There's something here were going to need your help with." Blunt said confidently. Mrs. Jones gave Alan a look of disgust. How could he treat Alex this way so soon after the shooting? But that was Alan Blunt. He believed emotions endangered his work. He couldn't become attached to his agents. Even if they were only fourteen years old. The same age as his children. Alex sunk his head back into his pillow in dismay. He had barely opened his eyes and already they had involved him in their next mission.

"Sabina, I heard that your father made a full recovery. I think this might be of interest to you too." Blunt shuffled awkwardly in his chair and beckoned Sabina over. She sat on the edge of Alex's bed and held his hand. Alex was puzzled, was it Sabina's voice that had awoken him? Blunt unclipped a picture from his file and passed it to Alex.

"Do you recognise this man?" Blunt asked. The picture showed a young man that had clearly had extensive plastic surgery. His face was littered with scars. He had no hair and a nose that seemed too small for the face it was on. There was only one thing Alex did recognise about this face. Dark steel- blue eyes. Alex glanced at Sabina. She smiled reassuringly and squeezed his hand.

"This is Cassack. He is one of our newest agents; he is eager to meet you." Blunt took the picture and slipped it back into his file. During the conversation Mrs Jones had stayed silent, watching over the situation. There was another knock, this time sharp and abrupt. A man came through the door and Alex recognised him at once. It was Cassack. He was very tall and athletic, wearing a loose fitting t- shirt and jeans. He approached Alex and held out his hand.

"Alex, I believe we have met before." There was no mistaking the voice. Although slightly lower, the Russian accent was still clear. Alex stared in disbelief. It couldn't be.

"Yassen…"


	2. A suprise entry

Thanks very much for reviews, and I hope you enjoy the next chapter!

Gunner10: Thanks!

Christopher: Wow! Thanks alot!

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**Chapter 2  
'A surprise entry'**

Alex was amazed. Why on earth would MI6 employ an assassin who had killed so many of their best agents?

"Yes it's me, but I'd prefer to be known as Cassack." Yassen replied. He brought another chair to the end of Alex's bed, and sat down next to Blunt.

"How can you do this? He killed my uncle, and could well have planted the bomb that killed my parents! He even tried to kill _me_!" Alex was furious. He was staring at the man that had ruined his life so many times.

"Alex I did not kill your parents, and I'm very sorry about your uncle. I admired your father, and now I know the truth I admire him even more. I only recently found out that John was working for MI6, and now I want to follow in his footsteps. Your father saved my life." Yassen looked to Blunt for support, then he leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs, showing the butt of a revolver in an ankle holster.

"How can you trust him? He's probably working for Scorpia!" Alex sat up in bed, causing pain to shoot through his chest. He remembered the shot, and seeing his parents crouch over him. A part of him wished the sniper was successful.

"We have already tested Cassack's reliability. He assassinated one of Scorpia's most senior agents, Dr. Three. We even have the body. Cassack will be a very useful agent, and is extremely talented." Blunt looked at Alex hopefully. He passed his files to Cassack, who began to leaf through the pages. His face showed no emotion.

"You will be working together on your next assignment." Blunt stated. Alex looked at Yassen. He smiled, not his usual smile, but a warm, reassuring smile. Almost as if he cared.

"We need you to monitor the upcoming Olympics." Mrs Jones said with a sigh. This was the first time she had spoken since Cassack entered the room.

"We are concerned about the newly elected president of the Olympic committee, the IOC. He is believed to have connections with various Chinese triad gangs." Blunt spoke glancing from Alex to Cassack. He handed Alex another picture from the files Cassack was holding. It was Cheng Zhi, head of the IOC. The picture had been taken as he climbed out of his limousine. He had a large flat nose, thin mouth and hard eyes.

"I'll just get a drink." Sabina smiled and pecked Alex on the forehead. Sabina avoided looking at Cassack, Blunt and Mrs Jones as she left the room briskly, the sound of her heels echoing around the room.

Suddenly there was a bang and the window shattered into a thousand pieces. For Alex, the world seemed to stop. For the first time in his life, he froze. And then he felt himself hurtling through the air. The world rushed past him, a blur. He landed in a heap in the corner. More gunshots pierced the air and splintered the door on the opposite wall.

Alex cowered in the corner, shielding his head with his hands. The gunfire suddenly stopped, and a man came flying through the window, landing at Alex's feet. The man had a single bullet through his neck. A dark pool of blood was spreading across the floor. He was wearing a black coat with a silver scorpion embossed on the cuff.

_Scorpia never forget._

Cassack was standing by the window reloading his colt .45. He lifted the sheet from the bed Alex was lying in only a few seconds before, revealing Mrs Jones and Blunt underneath. They quickly picked themselves up and walked over towards Alex.

"Are you alright?" Blunt almost sounded concerned. He rolled over the body revealing another scorpion. Blunt sighed and hung his head. He stood up and kicked the body back over on it's side.

"See Alex, now I'm saving your life not ending it." Cassack held out his hand to pull Alex up. Alex was cautious. Where did Cassack's loyalties lie? But something about Cassack made Alex take his hand. He stood up and looked Cassack in the eye. Cassack smiled and looked towards Blunt, who had now brushed himself down and picked up his untouched files.

"Back to headquarters then." Blunt said, heading towards the door as if nothing had happened. "I'm sure Smithers will have something to make your mission a little easier." Blunt held the door for Mrs Jones and followed her out. Cassack put his hand on Alex's shoulder.

"Partner." He muttered. Alex almost smiled in return. He walked out into a bustling corridor closely followed by Cassack.

Alex saw Sabina sitting on a bench opposite the door. She was extremely pale, staring at the door riddled with holes. Alex put his arm around her.

"It's ok, everything will be alright." Alex whispered reassuringly into her ear. He had forgotten about the pain in his chest.

A single bullet sailed through the air, and found it's target. A body slumped to the floor.


	3. Mr T Smith

Sorry about the long wait, I've been very busy. Hope you like it!

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**Chapter 3**

**Mr T Smith**

The office was large and scarcely furnished. A single rectangular desk stood in the centre of the room, surrounded by three chairs. The walls were a dull shade of cream, and a large abstract painting was hung on the wall behind the desk. The room felt very uncomfortable, especially for Alex Rider.

"I'm so sorry, Alex, I'm afraid I have some bad news." Blunt muttered, not able to meet Alex's eyes. He fiddled with his pen, trying to find the words to say.

"I believe you collapsed before the shot in the corridor. Is this true?" Blunt glanced awkwardly at Alex.

"What shot?" Alex replied urgently. He sat up in his chair, causing pain to shoot through his chest. He had been told very little about his last day in hospital. He could remember the shots through the window, and the Scorpia man dead on the floor. He could also remember the conversation about Cheng Zhi and the IOC. The last thing he could remember was talking to an ashen-faced Sabina outside in the corridor. Then his mind was blank. Was there another shooting?

"You collapsed onto the bench just before the shot. I'm afraid it was probably meant for you." Blunt paused and looked thoughtfully at Alex. Alex was leaning forward with his head in his hands, desperately trying to remember what happened.

"The bullet went straight through her skull. She felt no pain." Blunt muttered, as he adjusted his cuff links. Alex had not seen Mrs. Jones or Sabina since he was in hospital. Was one of them dead? His question was soon answered. Mrs Jones came through the door behind him, followed by Cassack.

"I know Sabina was a very good friend of yours Alex, I'm sorry." Mrs. Jones said, as she walked over to Blunt, and sat beside him. Alex stared blankly at the floor, in shock. Scorpia had killed his parents, his best friend and maybe even his uncle. He wanted revenge. Badly.

"I'm going to get Scorpia." Alex said through gritted teeth. He was so angry, he couldn't feel sad about Sabina's death.

"Well it just so happens that we have the opportunity. As you know, Cheng Zhi has connections with various gangs, and these could include Scorpia. We would like you and Cassack to go to the IOC Headquarters in London, and see what you can find. Do you think you could manage that?" Blunt asked Alex. He was back to his normal, business-like self. Cassack was now standing protectively beside Alex.

"Of _course _I could manage it." Alex said angrily. He didn't like Blunt questioning his abilities. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, Alex saw the painting on the wall begin to slide upwards. It disappeared into the ceiling, revealing a plump man holding a box.

"Good. I think you might be needing these." Smithers said with a smile. It was the first smile Alex had seen all day, but it did little to cheer him up. Smithers walked over to the desk and dropped the box in front of Alex. He then put his hands on his hips, as if walking three metres was a challenge, and waited for Alex to open the box.

Alex opened the box cautiously, and looked inside. There was a blue quiksilver wallet and a chain, that looked very much like Alex's normal wallet. He took out the wallet and handed the empty box back to Smithers. He opened the wallet and saw a name tag. It read:

Thomas Smith

52 Warren Avenue

Hunworth

Yorkshire

"You better return this to Thomas. It's got a credit card inside." Alex said. He looked at Smithers, puzzled.

"That's your secret identity. You will be working undercover with Cassack." Smithers looked pleased with himself as he told Alex about the wallet.

"The black magnetic strip on the credit card is a lot stronger than usual. It will pull apart any security lock, or crack any code in seconds. Just hold the strip against the lock, and it will click open. The coin is a tracking device. We can pinpoint your position anywhere in the UK. Just remember not to spend it!"

Alex was stunned. He examined the contents of the wallet carefully, but nothing gave away there real uses. It was just a credit card, belonging to Mr T Smith, and a two pence coin.

"So Tom, are you ready to visit the IOC?" Mrs Jones asked, grinning at Alex. Alex shoved the wallet in the back pocket of his jeans and smiled.

"Let's go."


End file.
